Media monitoring based on predictive signature caching

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture for media monitoring based on predictive signature caching are disclosed. Disclosed example methods to monitor media via a meter include comparing, at the meter, a set of site signatures generated by the meter for a first time period with a first set of reference signatures representative of reference media predicted to be presented during the first time period. Such example methods also include, when a first subset of the site signatures is determined to match a first subset of reference signatures from the first set, reporting, via the meter, metering data indicating that first reference media represented by the first subset of reference signatures was presented during the first time period. Such example methods further include, when the set of site signatures fails to match the first subset of reference signatures, reporting, via the meter, the set of site signatures.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media monitoring and, moreparticularly, to media monitoring based on predictive signature caching.

BACKGROUND

An audience measurement system typically includes one or more devicemeters to monitor the media presented by one or more media deviceslocated at one or more monitored sites. Such a device meter can usewatermarks decoded from the presented media and/or signatures (alsoreferred to as media fingerprints) generated from the presented media,or both, to monitor (e.g., identify and/or track) the media beingpresented by a media device. For example, identification codes, such aswatermarks, ancillary codes, etc., may be transmitted within mediasignals. Identification codes are data that are transmitted with media(e.g., inserted into the audio, video, or metadata stream of media) touniquely identify broadcasters and/or media (e.g., content oradvertisements), and/or are associated with the media for anotherpurpose such as tuning (e.g., packet identifier headers (“PIDs”) usedfor digital broadcasting). Codes are typically extracted using adecoding operation.

In contrast, signatures are a representation of some characteristic ofthe media signal (e.g., a characteristic of the frequency spectrum ofthe signal). Signatures can be thought of as fingerprints. They aretypically not dependent upon insertion of identification codes in themedia, but instead preferably reflect an inherent characteristic of themedia and/or the signal transporting the media. Systems to utilize codesand/or signatures for audience measurement are long known. See, forexample, Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

When signatures are used for media monitoring, signatures of themonitored media (referred to herein as collected signatures or sitesignatures) are generated by the device meter and compared to referencesignatures representative of reference media known to the audiencemeasurement system. In prior audience measurement systems, the devicemeters typically provide their generated site signatures to a dataprocessing facility or other centralized processing site for comparisonwith the reference signatures that are representative of the possiblereference media available for consumption at the respective monitoredsites. Such comparison may involve comparing large numbers of sitesignatures with large numbers of reference signatures, especially whenthe number of monitored sites is large and/or the amount of possiblereference media available for consumption is large.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example audience measurement system thatsupports media monitoring based on predictive signature caching asdisclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example meter that can be used toimplement the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example signature processor that can beused to implement the example meter of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example data facility processor that canbe used to implement the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement media monitoring based onpredictive signature caching in the example audience measurement systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter of FIG.2.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of first example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example data facilityprocessor of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of second example machine readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example data facilityprocessor of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processing system that mayexecute the example machine readable instructions of FIGS. 4-6 and/or 7to implement the example audience measurement system of FIG. 1, theexample meter of FIG. 2, the example signature processor of FIG. 2Aand/or the example data facility processor of FIG. 3.

Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the sameor like parts, elements, etc.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g.,physical storage media) for monitoring media based on predictivesignature caching are disclosed herein. Example methods to monitor, viaa meter, media presented by a media device include comparing, at themeter, a set of site signatures generated by the meter for a first timeperiod with a first set of reference signatures representative ofreference media predicted to be presented during the first time period.Such example methods can also include, when a first subset of the sitesignatures is determined to match a first subset of reference signaturesfrom the first set, reporting, via the meter, metering data indicatingthat first reference media represented by the first subset of referencesignatures was presented during the first time period. Such examplemethods can further include, when the set of site signatures fails tomatch the first subset of reference signatures, reverting to reporting,via the meter, the set of site signatures.

Some such example methods additionally include selecting the first setof reference signatures from a cache of reference signatures stored atthe meter. In such examples, the cache of reference signatures isrepresentative of reference media predicted to be presented during amonitoring interval including the first time period. In some suchexamples, the cache of reference signatures is provided to the meter bya data processing facility prior to the beginning of the monitoringinterval.

In some such examples, the cache of reference signatures includes timeinformation specifying time windows during which each respective subsetof reference signatures representative of each respective referencemedia is to be used by the meter for media monitoring. In such examples,the selection of the first set of reference signatures from the cache ofreference signatures is based on the time information. Moreover, in somesuch examples, a first time window specified for the first subset ofreference signatures representative of the first reference media can bedifferent from a second time window specified for a second subset ofreference signatures representative of second reference media.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such examples, the cache ofreference signatures includes type information specifying whether thefirst reference media represented by the first subset of referencesignatures corresponds to at least one of live media predicted to bepresented during the first time period, or time-shifted media predictedto be presented during the first time period. In some such examples, themetering data includes at least one of first information when the firstreference media represented by the first subset of reference signaturescorresponds to live media predicted to be presented during the firsttime period, or second information different from the first informationwhen the first reference media represented by the first subset ofreference signatures corresponds to time-shifted media predicted to bepresented during the first time period.

In some examples of the preceding methods, the first set of referencesignatures corresponds to a first type of signature from among at leasttwo types of signatures supported by the meter. For example, the firsttype of signature may have a lower resolution than a second type ofsignature from among the at least two types of signatures.

Other disclosed example methods to monitor media include processinghistorical metering data provided by a meter monitoring media presentedat a monitored site to predict media exposure that is to occur at themonitored site during a future monitoring interval. Such example methodsalso include obtaining reference signatures representative of referencemedia predicted to be presented at the monitored site during the futuremonitoring interval. Such example methods further include providing thereference signatures to the meter prior to the future monitoringinterval for use by the meter to perform media monitoring during thefuture monitoring interval. Such example methods can be implemented by,for example, one or more processors at a data processing facility.

In some such examples, the reference signatures include multiple subsetsof reference signatures, and each subset of reference signatures isrepresentative of respective reference media predicted to be presentedat the monitored site during the future monitoring interval. Some suchexample methods further include providing time information to the meterprior to the future monitoring interval. Such time information mayspecify, for example, time windows during which each respective subsetof reference signatures is to be used by the meter for media monitoring.For example, a first time window specified for a first subset ofreference signatures representative of first reference media predictedto be presented at the monitored site during the future monitoringinterval may be different from a second time window specified for asecond subset of reference signatures representative of second referencemedia predicted to be presented at the monitored site during the futuremonitoring interval. Additionally or alternatively, some such examplemethods further include providing type information specifying whetherfirst reference media represented by a first subset of referencesignatures corresponds to at least one of live media predicted to bepresented at the monitored site during the future monitoring interval,or time-shifted media predicted to be presented at the monitored siteduring the future monitoring interval.

In some examples, processing of the historical metering data includesprocessing the historical metering data to determine a first mediaexposure pattern corresponding to prior live media presented at themonitored site, and processing the historical metering data to determinea second media exposure pattern corresponding to prior time-shiftedmedia usage at the monitored site. Such examples can also includecomparing the first and second media exposure patterns to mediascheduling information to determine the reference media predicted to bepresented at the monitored site during the future monitoring interval.Then, for each live media source included in the reference media, suchexample methods can include providing first information specifying arespective time window during which the respective live media source isto be available for presentation at the monitored site. Additionally oralternatively, for each time-shifted media source included in thereference media, such example methods can include providing secondinformation specifying a respective time window during which therespective time-shifted media source is predicted to be presented at themonitored site.

These and other example methods, apparatus, systems and articles ofmanufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to implement media monitoringbased on predictive signature caching are disclosed in greater detailbelow.

Media measurement companies can employ a variety of techniques tomonitor media being consumed by a population. For example, panelscontaining recruited groups of persons (e.g., selected statistically)can be used to represent one or more demographic populations. In suchexamples, the media devices used by the panelists can be monitored by anaudience measurement system using device meters to determine the mediabeing presented by the media devices, from which media exposure and/orconsumption can be inferred. As mentioned above, some device metersemploy media signatures (also referred to as media fingerprints) todetermine the media being presented by a media device and, by extension,to estimate the exposure of the media to the person(s) using the mediadevice. Media signatures (e.g., audio and/or video signatures) can begenerated, as noted above, from media signals (e.g., audio and/or videosignals) sensed (e.g., detected, captured, etc.) via one or more sensorsof the device meter, and/or otherwise received by the device meter.

In prior signature-based audience measurement systems, the site mediasignatures generated by a device meter during a monitoring interval arereported (e.g., in real-time or at certain reporting intervals) by thedevice meter to a central data processing facility. The data processingfacility receives the media signatures reported by the device meters ofthe audience measurement system, and compares these site mediasignatures to a library of reference media signatures representative ofreference media known to the audience measurement system. When a matchis found, the media corresponding to the site signature being processedcan be identified as corresponding to the reference media represented bythe matching reference signature(s). Because the central data processingfacility is responsible for performing signature matching in such prioraudience measurement systems, such facilities may have highimplementation and support costs, especially when signatures from alarge number of device meters are to be processed within monitoringintervals having high granularity. Also, such prior systems can exhibithigh data transmission costs given that the device meters must reporttheir generated media signatures back to the central data processingfacility for processing. Unlike such prior system, media monitoringbased on predictive signature caching as disclosed herein enables thedevice meters themselves (e.g., the meter(s) at the monitoredlocation(s)) to perform signature matching and media identification. Assuch, media monitoring based on predictive signature caching can resultin lower implementation and support costs at the central data processingfacility, as well as lower data transmission costs.

Moreover, in at least some examples, media monitoring based onpredictive signature caching as disclosed herein enables the devicemeters to perform signature matching using light media signatures, asopposed to the rich media signatures utilized in prior systems. Richmedia signatures generally have higher resolution than light mediasignatures. For example, rich signatures may include more sample pointsper signature generation period, and/or more bits per sample point, thanlight media signatures. As such, identification of media may be possiblewith fewer rich media signatures than light media signatures, therebyresulting in faster identification times for rich media signaturesrelative to light media signatures. For this reason, prior audiencemeasurement systems typically use rich media signatures to enablecomparisons of monitored media with large libraries of reference mediato be completed in reasonable amounts of time. However, the use of suchrich media signatures may yield associated higher computation and datatransmission costs.

In contrast, media monitoring based on predictive signature cachinginvolves predicting the possible media expected to be presented at amonitored site, thereby reducing the library of reference media that isto be compared against the media monitored at the monitored site. Suchprediction, and the resulting reduction in the amount of possiblereference media, can enable the use of light media signatures. Forexample, by reducing the size of the reference media library for a givenmonitored site, signature comparison based on light signatures may stillyield identification results in a reasonable timeframe. Moreover, due tothe lower processing and data transmission costs associated with lightsignatures relative to rich signatures, the use of light mediasignatures can further enable signature matching to be migrated to thedevice meters in an audience measurement system.

Media monitoring based on predictive signature caching leverages thefact that people are creatures of habit. For example, viewing patternsfrom television measurement confirm that a given person typicallywatches television during similar times on a given day week after week,and often views different episodes of the same programs week after week.In other words, viewers have an interest and loyalty to programs theylike, and will typically watch many of the episodes of the same programduring a programming season or during periods when a distributor makesthe programs available. Today, people often use time-shifting devices,such as digital video recorders (DVRs), which can record a program whenit is broadcast, and play the recorded program back at a later time.This practice of recording or obtaining media at one time and presentingit at a later time is referred to as time shifting. Patterns of viewingalso occur for time shifted viewing. For example, over time, a givenperson may consistently watch different time shifted episodes of thesame program at the same, or similar, time offsets relative to theoriginal broadcast times of the respective episodes (e.g., such asconsistently watching newly recorded episodes of a weekly program on thefollowing evening after the respective episode was originallybroadcast). As described in greater detail below, such media exposurepatterns can be determined from prior media exposure data, and can beused to predict future media exposure at a given monitored site. Bypredicting future media exposure at the monitored site, the library ofreference media to be evaluated for the monitored site can be reduced toinclude, for example, only the reference media predicted to be presentedwithin the next monitoring interval.

Turning to the figures, a block diagram of an example audience meteringsystem 100 employing media monitoring based on local predictivesignature caching as disclosed herein is illustrated in FIG. 1. Theexample audience measurement system 100 supports monitoring of mediaexposure to audiences at one or more monitored sites, such as theexample monitored site 105 illustrated in FIG. 1. The monitored site 105includes an example media device 110, which is also referred to hereinas a media presentation device 110. Although the example of FIG. 1illustrates one monitored site 105 and one media device 110, mediamonitoring based on predictive signature caching as disclosed herein canbe used in audience measurement systems 100 supporting any number ofmonitored sites 105 having any number of media devices 110.

The audience measurement system 100 of the illustrated example includesan example device meter 125, also referred to as a meter 125, a sitemeter 125, a site unit 125, a home unit 125, etc., to monitor mediapresented by the media device 110. In the illustrated example, the mediamonitored by the device meter 125 can correspond to any type of mediapresentable by the media device 110. For example, monitored media cancorrespond to media content, such a television programs, radio programs,movies, etc., as well as commercials, advertisements, etc. In theillustrated example, the device meter 125 determines metering data thatmay identify and/or be used to identify media exposure (and, thus, infermedia consumption) at the monitored site 105. The audience measurementmeter 125 then stores and reports this metering data via an examplenetwork 135 to an example data processing facility 140. The dataprocessing facility 140 performs any appropriate post-processing of theaudience measurement data to, for example, determine audience ratingsinformation, identify targeted advertising to be provided to themonitored site 105, etc. In the illustrated example, the network 130 cancorrespond to any type(s) and/or number of wired and/or wireless datanetworks, or any combination thereof.

In the illustrated example, the media device 110 monitored by the devicemeter 125 can correspond to any type of audio, video and/or multimediapresentation device capable of presenting media audibly and/or visually.For example, the media device 110 can correspond to a television and/ordisplay device that supports the National Television Standards Committee(NTSC) standard, the Phase Alternating Line (PAL) standard, the SystèmeÉlectronique pour Couleur avec Mémoire (SECAM) standard, a standarddeveloped by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), such ashigh definition television (HDTV), a standard developed by the DigitalVideo Broadcasting (DVB) Project, etc. As other examples, the mediadevice 110 can correspond to a multimedia computer system, a personaldigital assistant, a cellular/mobile smartphone, a radio, a tablet, etc.

In the audience measurement system 100 of the illustrated example, thedevice meter 125 and the data processing facility 140 cooperate toperform media monitoring based on predictive signature caching asdisclosed herein. Unlike media monitoring techniques based on codesand/or watermarks included with and/or embedded in the monitored media,signature-based media monitoring techniques generally use one or moreinherent characteristics of the monitored media during a signaturesampling interval to generate a substantially unique proxy for themedia. Such a proxy is referred to as a signature or signature, and cantake the form of a series of digital values, a waveform, etc.,representative of the media signal(s), such as the audio and/or videosignals, forming the media presentation being monitored. A goodsignature is usually one that is repeatable when processing the samemedia presentation, but that is unique when processing otherpresentations of other media. Thus, as used herein, a signature is arepresentation of some characteristic of the media signal (e.g., acharacteristic of the frequency spectrum of the signal) which can beused to identify the signal, and can be thought of as a fingerprint.Signatures are typically not dependent upon insertion of identificationcodes in the media, but instead preferably reflect an inherentcharacteristic of the media and/or the signal transporting the media.Systems to utilize codes and/or signatures for audience measurement arelong known. See, for example, Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating) site signature(s) (also referred to as collectedsignature(s)) representative of a media signal (e.g., an audio signaland/or a video signal) output by a monitored media device at a monitoredsite, and comparing the site signature(s) to one or more referencessignatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference) media sources.Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlation value, aHamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether a sitesignature matches a particular reference signature. When a match betweenthe site signature and one of the reference signatures is found, themonitored media represented by the site signature can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media source represented bythe reference signature that matched the site signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected and, thus, known for thereference media represented by the reference signature, these attributesmay then be associated with the monitored media whose site signaturematched the reference signature.

For example, in the audience measurement system 100 of FIG. 1, thedevice meter 125 may utilize invasive monitoring involving one or morephysical connections to the media device 110, and/or non-invasivemonitoring not involving any physical connection to the media device110, to obtain access to one or more media signals corresponding to themedia being presented by the media device 110. In some examples, thedevice meter 125 may process audio signals obtained from the mediadevice 110 via a microphone and/or a direct cable connection to generateaudio site signatures representative of the media being presented by themedia device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the device meter 125may process video signals obtained from the media device 110 via acamera and/or a direct cable connection to generate video sitesignatures (e.g., image signatures) representative of the media beingpresented by the media device 110. The site signatures generated by thedevice meter 125 can then be compared with known reference signatures toidentify/monitor the media being presented by the media device 110.

Furthermore, unlike prior signature-based media monitoring techniques,the device meter 125 performs signature matching using a cache ofreference signatures provided by the data processing facility 140 andrepresentative of a site-specific library of reference media predictedto be presented by the monitored media device 110 during a nextmonitoring interval. For example, and as described in greater detailbelow, the data processing facility 140 of the illustrated exampleprocesses metering data previously reported by the device meter 125 todetermine one or more media exposure patterns associated with themonitored site 105 associated with the media device 110. The dataprocessing facility 140 further uses the media exposure pattern(s)determined for the monitored site 105 to predict, from among a libraryof reference media maintained by the data processing facility 140, themedia that is likely to be consumed at the monitored site and, thus,presented by the media device 110 during a future (such as the next)monitoring interval. The data processing facility 140 then prepares apackage of reference signatures containing the reference signaturesrepresentative of the reference media predicted to be presented at themonitored site 105 during the future monitoring interval, and provides(e.g., via the network 135) the reference signature package to thedevice meter 125 monitoring the media device 110.

In addition to the selected reference signatures, the referencesignature package may also include descriptive information identifyingthe different reference media represented by the reference signatures,specifying one or more windows of time during which the differentreference media represented in the package are predicted to be consumedand/or presented, specifying the type(s) of the different referencemedia represented in the package (e.g., such as whether a particularreference media corresponds to live or time-shifted media), theduration(s) of the different reference media included in the package,etc. As used herein, live media refers to media that is, for example,presented and/or consumed as the media is received by the monitoredmedia device 110. For example, live media can correspond to apresentation of broadcasted or streamed media in real-time as thebroadcasted or streamed media is received by the media device 110.Accordingly, live media can be associated with a broadcast schedule, astreaming availability schedule, etc. In contrast, as used herein,time-shifted media refers to media that is, for example, recorded ordownloaded for later presentation by the media device 110. For example,time-shifted media can correspond to a later presentation by the mediadevice 110 of media that was previously recorded or downloaded by themedia device 110 or another device at the monitored site 105.

In some examples, the device meter 125 receives the reference signaturepackage from the data processing facility 140 and stores the referencesignatures and accompanying reference media descriptive information in acache for use during the appropriate future monitoring interval withwhich the reference signature package is associated. For example, thereference signature package could be provided by the data processingfacility 140 for use during the immediately next monitoring interval, orsome future monitoring interval indicated by information provided in thereference signature package. Then, during the appropriate monitoringinterval, the device meter 125 uses its cached reference signatures tomonitor the media presented by the media device 110. For example, duringthe appropriate monitoring interval associated with a package of cachedreference signatures, the media device 110 can compare a set of sitesignatures generated by the device meter 125 during a given (e.g.,current or past) time period (and which are representative of the mediabeing presented by the media device 110 during the given time period)with a set of cached reference signatures representative of thereference media predicted to be presented during the given time period.As described in greater detail below, the device meter 125 can selectthe subset(s) of reference signatures corresponding to the given timeperiod based on the reference media descriptive information included inthe reference signature package provided by the data processing facility140.

In some examples, if the device meter 125 determines that at least asubset of the site signatures associated with a given time periodmatches at least a subset of the reference signatures, the device meter125 prepares and reports (e.g., in real-time or at a later reportingtime) metering data to indicate (by media identification information andduration) that the particular reference media represented by thematching subset of reference signatures was presented by the mediadevice 110 during the given time period associated with the sitesignatures. For example, media signatures are typically generated atsome signature rate, such as one signature per every 15 seconds, 30seconds, etc. Thus, when the media being presented by the media device110 matches one of the reference media predicted to be presented duringthe given time period, at least a subset of the sequence of sitesignatures generated during that time period is expected to match arespective subset of the sequence of reference signatures representativeof the matching reference media. However, if the set of site signaturesfor the given time period fails to match any of the subset(s) ofreferences signatures for the time period, the device meter 125 can, forexample, revert to reporting the site signatures to the data processingfacility 140 for comparison again a presumably larger collection ofreference signatures representative of a correspondingly largercollection of reference media.

In some examples, the device meter 125 reports its metering data for agiven measurement interval, and any site signatures to be reported fortime period(s) in which predicted media exposure did not occur, to thedata processing facility 140 (e.g., via the network 135) at specified orotherwise configured reporting intervals. In some examples, the devicemeter 125 may also retrieve, from the data processing facility 140, thereference signature package for the next and/or some other futuremonitoring interval. Furthermore, in some examples, the audiencemeasurement system 100 combines media monitoring based on predictivesignature caching, as disclosed herein, with other media identificationtechniques, such as media identification based on (a) watermarks/codesembedded or otherwise included with the monitored media, (b) tuning dataand/or device operation data obtained by monitoring operation of themedia device 110, etc.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, in some examples, the audiencemeasurement system 100 may include includes a people meter to captureinformation about the audience or, more generally, panel member(s) atthe monitored site 105, which may then be used to extrapolatedemographic information, media exposure and/or consumption information,etc., for a population represented by the panel. Some example peoplemeters may be configured to receive information from a control devicehaving a set of input keys, each assigned to represent a single panelmember. Such an example people meter may prompt the panel members toindicate that they are present in the monitored panel by pressing theappropriate input key on the control device. In some examples, thepeople meter may also receive information from the device meter 110 todetermine a time at which to prompt the panel members. Moreover, thedevice meter 110 may receive information from the people meter and/orthe people meter control device to modify an operation of the devicemeter 110 (e.g., such as causing the device meter 110 to generate one ormore metering data records based on a change in the monitored group ofpanel member(s) at the monitored site 105.

A block diagram of an example implementation of the device meter 125 ofFIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The example device meter 125 of FIG. 2can be implemented as a metering device that is separate from the mediadevice 125 but able to sense/detect media signal(s) from the mediadevice 125, or by or in the media device 125 (e.g., such as in the caseof being implemented as a process executing in consumer electronics usedby the panelist, in a personal computer, in a smartphone, in a smarttelevision etc.), or by a combination thereof. The example device meter125 of FIG. 2 includes an example media interface 205 to obtain accessto one or more media signals output by the media device 110. Forexample, the media interface 205 can be implemented by one or more cableconnections to electrically, optically or otherwise communicativelycouple with one or more audio outputs and/or video outputs of the mediadevice 110. Additionally or alternatively, the media interface 205 canbe implemented by one or more audio sensors, such as a microphone, atransducer, etc., capable of non-invasively receiving and processing anaudio signal (e.g., such as an acoustic signal) that is output by themedia device 110. Additionally or alternatively, the media interface 205can be implemented by one or more video sensors, such as a camera, alight detector, etc., capable of non-invasively receiving and processinga video signal (e.g., such as video frames) output by the media device110.

The example device meter 125 of FIG. 2 also includes an examplesignature processor 210 to generate site signatures from the mediasignal(s) obtained via the media interface 205. Each site signaturegenerated by the signature processor 210 is representative of arespective segment of the media (e.g., corresponding to several secondsof the media) being presented by the media device 110. Examples ofsignature techniques that can be implemented by the signature processor210 include, but are not limited to, any or all of the techniquesdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,466 issued to Lert et al. on Jun. 30,1987; U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294 issued to Thomas et al. on Jan. 2, 1996;U.S. Pat. No. 7,460,684 issued to Srinivasan on Dec. 2, 2008; U.S.Publication No. 2005/0232411 to Srinivasan et al. published on Oct. 20,2005; U.S. Publication No. 2006/0153296 to Deng published on Jul. 13,2006; U.S. Publication No. 2006/0184961 to Lee et al. published on Aug.17, 2006; U.S. Publication No. 2006/0195861 to Lee published on Aug. 31,2006; U.S. Publication No. 2007/0274537 to Srinivasan published on Nov.29, 2007; U.S. Publication No. 2008/0091288 to Srinivasan published onApr. 17, 2008; and U.S. Publication No. 2008/0276265 to Topchy et al.published on Nov. 6, 2008, all of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their respective entireties.

Some examples of the signature processor 210 can also generate multipletypes of signatures from the media signal(s) obtained via the mediainterface 205. A block diagram of an example implementation of such asignature processor 210 is illustrated in FIG. 2A. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 2A, the signature processor 210 includes an exampletype-1 signature generator 255 and an example type-2 signature generator260 to generate site signatures of a first type and/or of a second type,respectively, from the monitored media signal(s). The signatures of thefirst type can correspond to rich, high resolution signatures, whereasthe signatures of the second type can correspond to light, lowresolution signatures, which are smaller than the rich, high resolutionsignatures of the first type. In some examples, the signatures of thefirst type and the signatures of the second type are both generatedusing the same signaturing procedure, but with the signatures of thefirst type being generated using a higher data sampling rate (e.g.,yielding more sample data points per signature), more bits to representthe sampled media signal values (e.g., yielding more bits per samplepoint value), more signal frequencies from which the signatures are tobe generated, etc., than are used when generating the signatures of thesecond type. Additionally or alternatively, the type-1 signaturegenerator 255 may generate more type-1 signatures per unit time than thenumber of type-2 signatures generated per unit time by the type-2signature generator 260. In this way, the signatures of the first typeare generated to have higher resolution than the signatures of thesecond type and, thus, the signatures of the first type are typicallylarger (e.g., include more bits of data) than the signatures of thesecond type. In other examples, the signatures of the first type and thesignatures of the second type can be generated using differentsignaturing procedures, such as a first signaturing procedure thatyields higher resolution and, thus, larger signatures than a secondsignaturing procedure.

The example device meter 125 of FIG. 2 further includes an examplesignature package receiver 215 to receive a reference signature packagefrom the data processing facility 140 via an example network interface220. The network interface 220 can be implemented using any networkingtechnology capable of interfacing with the network 135 and capable ofsending data to and receiving data from the data processing facility140. As described above, the reference signature package includesreference signatures representative of reference media predicted to bepresented by the media device 110 during a future monitoring interval.For example, the reference signatures included in the referencesignature package can include respective subsets (e.g., sequences) ofreference signatures representative of respective different referencemedia predicted for future exposure at the monitored site 105. Forexample, the respective subsets (e.g., sequences) of referencesignatures can be representative of different reference media predictedfor presentation at different times, and/or multiple reference mediapredicted as being candidates for presentation at a same given time.

In some examples, a reference signature package received by thesignature package receiver 215 from the data processing facility 140also includes reference media descriptive information that isdescriptive of the different subsets of reference signatures included inthe reference signature package. For example, such descriptiveinformation can include identification information to identify theparticular reference media represented by a respective subset of thereference signatures. Additionally or alternatively, such descriptiveinformation can include type information specifying whether a respectivesubset of reference signatures is representative of live reference mediaor time-shifted reference media. Additionally or alternatively, suchdescriptive information can include time information specifying timewindow(s) during which the particular reference media represented by arespective subset of the reference signatures is predicted to beconsumed and/or presented. In other words, such time information canspecify one or more time windows during which a respective subset ofreference signatures are to be used (e.g., are relevant) for mediamonitoring. In some examples, different subsets of reference signaturesrepresentative of different respective reference media can havedifferent time windows of applicability. For example, a first subset ofreference signatures representative of first reference media may beapplicable (e.g., predicted to be consumed and/or presented) during afirst time window (e.g., 7:00 to 8:00 PM, or some other time window),whereas a second subset of reference signatures representative of secondreference media may be applicable (e.g., predicted to be consumed and/orpresented) during a second time window (e.g., 8:00 to 9:00 PM, or someother time window).

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the signature package receiver 215stores the reference signatures and reference media descriptiveinformation from a received reference signature package in an examplecache 225 maintained in an example memory 230. In some examples, thememory 230 also stores metering data to be reported to the dataprocessing facility 140. The memory 230 may be implemented by anytype(s) and/or number of storage or memory device(s), database(s), etc.,such as the mass storage device 830 and/or the volatile memory 818included in the example processing system 800 of FIG. 8, which isdescribed in greater detail below.

The example device meter 125 of FIG. 2 also includes an examplecomparator 235 to compare site signatures generated by the signatureprocessor 210 with subsets of reference signatures selected from thecache 225 by an example reference signature selector 240. The comparator235 can implement any type(s) and/or number of comparison criteria, suchas a cross-correlation value, a Hamming distance, etc., to determinewhether site signature(s) and reference signature(s) match orsubstantially match within a particular tolerance level (e.g., which maybe predetermined, specified as a configuration parameter or input,etc.). In the illustrated example, the reference signature selector 240uses the descriptive information included with the reference signaturepackage(s) provided by the data processing facility 140 and stored inthe cache 225 to select one or more subsets of reference signatures forcomparison with the site signatures generated by the signature processor210 for a given period of time. For example, the reference signatureselector 240 can evaluate time information included in the cacheddescriptive information and specifying time window(s) during which eachrespective subset of the reference signatures representative ofrespective reference media is predicted to be consumed and/or presentedat the monitored site 105 to determine when each respective subset ofreference signatures is to be selected and used for signature matching.

To report metering data characterizing the media presented by the mediadevice 100 and, thus, presumed to have been consumed at the monitoredsite 105, the example device meter 125 of FIG. 2 includes an examplemetering data reporter 245. The metering data reporter 245 can reportmetering data at the conclusion of a given monitoring interval, inreal-time, using a combination of real-time and the batch reporting atthe end of a monitoring interval, etc. For example, a monitoringinterval can correspond to, for example, a daily interval, weeklyinterval, etc., which is divided into monitoring time periods, such as15 minute periods, 30 minute periods, 1 hour periods, etc., the latterof which may correspond to the time window(s) specified in the timeinformation included in the received reference signature package(s). Insuch example, the metering data reporter 245 prepares reporting data forone or more, or each, time period, including: (i) media identificationinformation indicating which subset(s) of cached reference mediasignatures, if any, matched the site signatures generated by thesignature processor 210 for the given time period (e.g., to identify thematching reference media), (ii) duration information indicating theduration of the matching signatures (e.g., to indicate the duration ofpresenting and/or consuming the matching reference media at themonitored site 105), etc. In some examples, when the set of sitesignatures generated by the signature processor 210 fails to match anyof the subset(s) of cached reference media signatures specified for useduring a given time period, the metering data reporter 245 reverts toreporting the site signatures generated by the signature processor 210for the given time period. In such examples, prediction was unsuccessfuland, thus, the data processing facility 140 can compare the reportedsite signatures with a larger reference signature library maintained bythe data processing facility 140 to thereby identify the reference mediapresented and/or consumed during the given period of time.

In some examples, for a given monitoring time period, the metering datareporter 245 reports different media identification informationdepending upon the descriptive information included with the subset ofreference signatures that matched the set of site signatures for thattime period. For example, if the descriptive information associated withthe particular matching subset of reference signatures for the giventime period indicates that the reference media represented by thematching reference signatures is live media, then it may be sufficientto include an indication that the predicted live viewing for the giventime period occurred, rather than including specific mediaidentification information for the given period (e.g., if only onepossible live media source is predicted for the given time period). Asanother example, if the descriptive information associated with theparticular matching subset of reference signatures for the given timeperiod indicates that the reference media represented by the matchingreference signatures is time-shifted media, then the mediaidentification information included in the metering data may include aspecific reference media identifier for the given period (e.g., ifmultiple time-shifted media sources are predicted as possible for thegiven time period). Also, to reduce the size of the reported meteringdata, the metering data reporter 245 may include a match successindication for each time period in which a match between the sitesignatures and cached (i.e., predicted) reference signatures occurred,and further include media identification information identifying thematching reference signatures only in cases of possible ambiguity, suchas only for those time period(s) for which multiple different subsets ofreference signatures (representative of different reference media) havetime windows that overlap those time period(s)).

As noted above, in some examples, the signature processor 210 supportsgeneration of multiple types of signatures (e.g., during a given timeperiod) such that a first type corresponds to rich, high resolutionsignatures, whereas a second type corresponds to light, low resolutionsignatures. In such examples, the reference signatures included in thereference signature package received from the data processing facility140 and stored in the cache 225 can correspond to the light signaturesof the second type. Use of such light signatures can reduce the size ofthe reference signature package while yielding acceptable matchingperformance if, for example, the number of predicted reference mediasources for a given time period is small. Furthermore, in such examples,the signature processor 210 may also generate the rich signatures incase the light signatures fail to match any of the reference signaturesspecified for the given monitoring time period. In such examples, themetering data reporter 245 can include the rich site signatures in thereported metering data to enable the data processing facility 140 tocompare the site signatures against a possibly large library ofreference media with acceptable performance.

A block diagram of an example data facility processor 300 that may beused to implement predictive signature caching in the example dataprocessing facility 140 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The exampledata facility processor 300 of FIG. 3 includes an example networkinterface 305 implemented using any networking technology capable ofinterfacing with the network 135 and capable of sending data to andreceiving data from the device meter 125. The example data facilityprocessor 300 of FIG. 4 also includes an example metering data receiver310 to receive, via the network interface 305, the metering datareported by the device meter 125 in any appropriate data formataccording to any appropriate protocol. As described above, the meteringdata reported received by the metering data receiver 310 from a devicemeter 125 for a particular monitored site 105 can include mediaidentification information identifying the reference media presentedand/or consumed at the monitored site 105, duration informationindicating the time(s) when the reported reference media was presentedand/or consumed at the monitored site 105, as well as the duration ofsuch presentation and/or viewing.

In some examples, the metering data received by the metering datareceiver 305 can include site signatures reported by the device meter126 and corresponding to time period(s) during which the site signatures125 generated by the meter 125 failed to match the cached referencesignatures for the reference media predicted for presentation and/orconsumption during those time period(s). Accordingly, the example datafacility processor 300 of FIG. 3 further includes an example comparator315 to compare the site signatures received from the device meter 125with reference signatures representative of the collection of referencemedia known to the data processing facility 140. Similar to thecomparator 235 of FIG. 2, the comparator 315 of FIG. 3 can implement anytype(s) and/or number of comparison criteria, such as across-correlation value, a Hamming distance, etc., to determine whethera monitored signature and a reference signature match or substantiallymatch within a particular tolerance level (e.g., which may bepredetermined, specified as a configuration parameter or input, etc.).

To predict future media presentation and/or consumption associated withthe media device 110 at the monitored site 105, the example datafacility processor 300 of FIG. 3 includes an example media exposurepredictor 320, an example media exposure profiler 325 and an examplemedia scheduling processor 330. In the illustrated example, the mediaexposure predictor 320 processes historical metering data previouslyreceived from the device meter 125 that is monitoring media presented bythe media device 110 at the monitored site 105 to predict the mediaexposure that is to occur during a future monitoring interval at themonitored site 105. For example, the metering data received by themetering data receiver 305 from device meters, including the devicemeter 125 for the monitored site 105, can be stored in an examplemetering data storage 335 of the data facility processor 300. In suchexamples, the media exposure predictor 320 processes the historicalmetering data stored in the metering data storage 335 for the devicemeter 125 to predict the media that is to be presented by the mediadevice 110 being monitored by the device meter 125 and, thus, predictedto be consumed at the monitoring site 105, during the next or somefuture monitoring interval.

In some examples, the media exposure predictor 320 uses the historicaldata for a particular device meter 125 to determine one or more mediaexposure patterns associated with media exposure at the meter'smonitored site 105. In such examples, the media exposure predictor 320can invoke the media exposure profiler 325 to ascertain such profilesfrom the historical data for the particular device meter 125. Forexample, the media exposure profiler 325 can process the historicalmetering data reported by the device meter 125 for the monitored site105 to determine the television series, movie genres, music artists,etc., and/or other identifying characteristics associated with mediapreviously reported as having been presented and/or consumed at themonitored site 105. The media exposure profiler 325 can then use anytype of pattern recognition analysis to ascertain patterns of mediaexposure from the historical metering data. For example, the mediaexposure profiler 325 can determine patterns of television seriesepisodes that have been presented and/or consumed at the monitored site105 and a likelihood of a future occurrence of an episode of a seriesbeing presented and/or consumed. Similarly, the media exposure profiler325 can use any type of pattern recognition analysis to ascertain thelikelihood of different movies, songs, etc., being presented and/orconsumed at the monitored site 105.

For example, as metering data is collected by a device meter 125 for amedia device 110, recurring patterns of media presentation (and, thus,consumption) associated with that device can be identified. Patterns canemerge for the times in which television viewing occurs, what programsare viewed, and if the viewing is done as the program is broadcast, oris done in a time-shifted mode. By building a profile for each devicemeter 125 (and, thus, for each device 110 and corresponding monitoredsite 105) that includes respective media usage pattern(s), the profilecan allow the media exposure predictor 320 to predict future viewing.For example, based on knowledge of upcoming scheduled media broadcasts,upcoming availability of streaming/downloadable media, etc., the profiledata can be used to create a schedule of predicted media exposure for amonitored media device, such as the media device 110. In cases where amonitored site 105 includes multiple media devices 110, patterns ofmedia presentation and/or consumption by media device can also beproduced.

In some examples, the media exposure profiler 325 determines differenttypes of media exposure patterns for different types of media predictedfor exposure at the monitored site 105. For example, the media exposureprofiler 325 can determine a live media exposure profile and atime-shifted media exposure profile associated with the media device 110being monitoring by the device meter 125. In such examples, the livemedia exposure profile can specify the patterns of live media contentpresented by the media device 125 and, thus, presumed to have beenconsumed at the monitored site 105 in the past, such as in the form ofdays/times of the week when live media programs (e.g., televisionprograms, radio programs, etc.) are presented (e.g., viewed, heard,etc.) on a regular basis, along with information identifying these liveprograms. Such live media exposure profiles can then be used toascertain a pattern of live media exposure, such as likely time(s) ofthe day and day(s) of the week when live media is likely to be presentedin the future, and/or live media programs for which future episodes arelikely to be presented and/or consumed at the monitored site 105, etc.For comparison, the time-shifted media exposure profile associated withthe media device 110 being monitoring by the device meter 125 canspecify the patterns of time-shifted media content presented by themedia device 125 and, thus, consumed at the monitored site 105. Forexample, the time-shifted media exposure profile can specify thedays/times of the week when time-shifted media (e.g., recordedtelevision programs, recorded radio programs, streaming on-demandcontent, etc.) are recorded/downloaded on a regular basis, the elapsedtime(s) between media recording/download and playback (e.g., on average,for specific types/genres of media, etc.), etc., from which patterns oftime-shifted media exposure can be determined. Any number(s) and/ortype(s) of media exposure patterns can be determined according to anyappropriate technique(s) by the media exposure profiler 325, for use bythe media exposure predictor 320.

In some example, the media exposure predictor 320 compares the profilecontaining the media exposure pattern(s) for a given device meter 125 tomedia scheduling/availability data to predict the future mediapresentation/exposure associated with the respective media device 110and monitored site 105 being monitored by the meter 125. In suchexamples, the media scheduling processor 330 processes mediascheduling/availability data stored in an example media schedulingstorage 340 to determine a media availability schedule for the next, orsome other future, monitoring interval. For example, the mediascheduling storage 340 may store media scheduling data (e.g., broadcastscheduling data) obtained from one or more broadcast service providers(e.g., television, cable and/or satellite service providers), one ormore electronic program guide (EPG) services, etc. Additionally oralternatively, the media scheduling storage 340 may store mediaavailability data (e.g., online streaming/download availability) in theform of media playlists and/or the like obtained from one or more onlinemedia service providers (e.g., streaming video providers, streamingaudio providers, video/audio download services, etc.), etc. Additionallyor alternatively, the media scheduling storage 340 may store schedule(s)of commercials in rotation on each available network, media source,etc., to enable the scheduling of commercials, advertisement, etc., tobe determined. The media scheduling processor 330 then retrieves themedia scheduling/availability data for a given future monitoringinterval to determine a schedule of media availability (e.g., by timeperiod, source, etc.), that can be compared with the media exposurepatterns(s) stored in the profiles determined by the media exposureprofiler 325.

Using any appropriate comparison technique or techniques, the mediaexposure predictor 320 compares the media exposure profile(s) includedin the profile determined by the media exposure profiler 325 for aparticular device meter, such as the device meter 125, with the scheduleof media availability determined by the media scheduling processor 330to predict the reference media that is likely to be presented at themonitored site 105 during the next, or some other future, monitoringinterval. After predicting the reference media that is likely to bepresented at the monitored site 105 during the future monitoringinterval, the media exposure predictor 320 invokes an example referencesignature packager 345 included in the example data facility processor300 of FIG. 3 to prepare a package of reference signaturesrepresentative of this reference media. In the illustrated example, thereference signature packager 345 retrieves the reference signatures froman example reference signature storage 350 storing respective subsets(e.g., sequences) of reference signatures representative of respectivereference media known to the data facility processor 300. The datafacility processor 300 can obtain the set (e.g., sequence) of referencesignatures for particular reference media in any appropriate manner,such as from a provider of the reference media, but monitoring mediabroadcasts, etc.

In some examples, the reference signature storage 350 can store multipletypes of signatures for a particular reference media. For example, thereference signature storage 350 may store a set (e.g., sequence) of richreference signatures, as described above, and a set (e.g., sequence) oflight reference signatures, as described above, for a particularreference media. In such examples, the reference signature packagesdetermined by the reference signature packager 350 may include lightreference signatures representative of the reference media to berepresented in the package, whereas the rich reference signatures may beused by the comparator 315 for comparison with reported site signatures,as described above

For a given device meter 125 and future monitoring interval, thereference signature packager 345 prepares a reference signature packagecontaining the respective subsets (e.g., sequences) of referencesignatures (e.g., light reference signatures) representative of therespective reference media predicted for presentation and/or consumptionat the associated monitored site 105 during the future monitoringinterval. The reference signature package may also contain descriptiveinformation, as described above. For example, such descriptiveinformation can include identification identifying the respectivereference media represented by each subset of reference signaturesincluded in the package, type information specifying the type ofreference media (e.g., live or time-shifted) represented by each subsetof reference signatures included in the package, time informationspecifying one or more time windows during which the respective sets ofreference signatures are to be used (e.g., are relevant) for mediamonitoring based on predictive signature caching, etc.

The example data facility processor 300 of FIG. 3 also includes anexample meter manager 355 to perform management of device meters, suchas the device meter 125. For example, the meter manager 355 may use thenetwork interface 305 to connect with and program configurationinformation into the device meter 125, such as monitoring timeintervals, metering data reporting times/intervals, device and/or siteidentification information, etc. Additionally or alternatively, in theillustrated example, the meter manager 355 causes the referencesignature package(s) determined by the reference signature packager 345for the device meter 125 to be downloaded (e.g., via the networkinterface 305) to the device meter 125 prior to the start of themonitoring interval(s) during which the reference signature package(s)is(are) to be used.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the metering data storage 335, themedia scheduling storage 340 and the reference signature storage 350 canbe implemented by any number and/or type(s) of storage or memorydevice(s), database(s), etc., such as the mass storage device 830 and/orthe volatile memory 818 included in the example processing system 800 ofFIG. 8, which is described in greater detail below. Furthermore, themetering data storage 335, the media scheduling storage 340 and thereference signature storage 350 can be implemented by the same storageor memory device, or two or more different storage or memory devices.

While example manners of implementing the audience measurement system100 have been illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, one or more of the elements,processes and/or devices illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 may be combined,divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in anyother way. Further, the example device meter 125, the example dataprocessing facility 140, the example media interface 205, the examplesignature processor 210, the example signature package receiver 215, theexample network interface 220, the example cache 225, the example memory230, the example comparator 235, the example reference signatureselector 240, the example metering data reporter 245, the example type-1signature generator 255, the example type-2 signature generator 260, theexample data facility processor 300, the example network interface 305,the example metering data receiver 310, the example comparator 315, theexample media exposure predictor 320, the example media exposure profile325, the example media scheduling processor 330, the example meteringdata storage 335, the example media scheduling storage 340, the examplereference signature packager 345, the example reference signaturestorage 350, the example meter manager 355 and/or, more generally, theexample audience measurement system 100 may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware. Thus, for example, any of the example device meter 125, theexample data processing facility 140, the example media interface 205,the example signature processor 210, the example signature packagereceiver 215, the example network interface 220, the example cache 225,the example memory 230, the example comparator 235, the examplereference signature selector 240, the example metering data reporter245, the example type-1 signature generator 255, the example type-2signature generator 260, the example data facility processor 300, theexample network interface 305, the example metering data receiver 310,the example comparator 315, the example media exposure predictor 320,the example media exposure profile 325, the example media schedulingprocessor 330, the example metering data storage 335, the example mediascheduling storage 340, the example reference signature packager 345,the example reference signature storage 350, the example meter manager355 and/or, more generally, the example audience measurement system 100could be implemented by one or more circuit(s), programmableprocessor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logicdevice(s) (FPLD(s)), etc. When any of the apparatus or system claims ofthis patent are read to cover a purely software and/or firmwareimplementation, at least one of the example audience measurement system100, the example device meter 125, the example data processing facility140, the example media interface 205, the example signature processor210, the example signature package receiver 215, the example networkinterface 220, the example cache 225, the example memory 230, theexample comparator 235, the example reference signature selector 240,the example metering data reporter 245, the example type-1 signaturegenerator 255, the example type-2 signature generator 260, the exampledata facility processor 300, the example network interface 305, theexample metering data receiver 310, the example comparator 315, theexample media exposure predictor 320, the example media exposure profile325, the example media scheduling processor 330, the example meteringdata storage 335, the example media scheduling storage 340, the examplereference signature packager 345, the example reference signaturestorage 350 and/or the example meter manager 355 are hereby expresslydefined to include a tangible computer readable storage medium such as amemory, digital versatile disk (DVD), compact disk (CD), Blu-ray disc™,etc., storing such software and/or firmware. Further still, the exampleaudience measurement system 100 of FIGS. 1-3 may include one or moreelements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIGS. 1-3, and/or may include more than one of any or allof the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the example audience measurement system 100, the exampledevice meter 125, the example data processing facility 140, the examplemedia interface 205, the example signature processor 210, the examplesignature package receiver 215, the example network interface 220, theexample cache 225, the example memory 230, the example comparator 235,the example reference signature selector 240, the example metering datareporter 245, the example type-1 signature generator 255, the exampletype-2 signature generator 260, the example data facility processor 300,the example network interface 305, the example metering data receiver310, the example comparator 315, the example media exposure predictor320, the example media exposure profile 325, the example mediascheduling processor 330, the example metering data storage 335, theexample media scheduling storage 340, the example reference signaturepackager 345, the example reference signature storage 350 and/or theexample meter manager 355 are shown in FIGS. 4-7. In these examples, themachine readable instructions represented by each flowchart may compriseone or more programs for execution by a processor, such as the processor812 shown in the example processing system 800 discussed below inconnection with FIG. 8. The one or more programs, or portion(s) thereof,may be embodied in software stored on a tangible computer readablestorage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disc™, or a memory associated with theprocessor 812, but the entire program or programs and/or portionsthereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than theprocessor 812 (e.g., such as a controller and/or any other suitabledevice) and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware (e.g.,implemented by an ASIC, a PLD, an FPLD, discrete logic, etc.). Also, oneor more of the machine readable instructions represented by theflowchart of FIGS. 4-7 may be implemented manually. Further, althoughthe example machine readable instructions are described with referenceto the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 4-7, many other methods ofimplementing the example audience measurement system 100, the exampledevice meter 125, the example data processing facility 140, the examplemedia interface 205, the example signature processor 210, the examplesignature package receiver 215, the example network interface 220, theexample cache 225, the example memory 230, the example comparator 235,the example reference signature selector 240, the example metering datareporter 245, the example type-1 signature generator 255, the exampletype-2 signature generator 260, the example data facility processor 300,the example network interface 305, the example metering data receiver310, the example comparator 315, the example media exposure predictor320, the example media exposure profile 325, the example mediascheduling processor 330, the example metering data storage 335, theexample media scheduling storage 340, the example reference signaturepackager 345, the example reference signature storage 350 and/or theexample meter manager 355 may alternatively be used. For example, withreference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 4-7, the order ofexecution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocksdescribed may be changed, eliminated, combined and/or subdivided intomultiple blocks.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 4-7 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer readableinstructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium suchas a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a CD, aDVD, a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storagedevice or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration(e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, brief instances, fortemporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As usedherein, the term tangible computer readable storage medium is expresslydefined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/orstorage disk, and to exclude propagating signals. Additionally oralternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 4-7 may be implementedusing coded instructions (e.g., computer readable instructions) storedon a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a flash memory, aROM, a CD, a DVD, a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any otherstorage media in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., forextended time periods, permanently, brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storagedisk, and to exclude propagating signals. Also, as used herein, theterms “computer readable” and “machine readable” are consideredequivalent. Furthermore, as used herein, when the phrase “at least” isused as the transition term in a preamble of a claim, it is open-endedin the same manner as the term “comprising” is open ended. Thus, a claimusing “at least” as the transition term in its preamble may includeelements in addition to those expressly recited in the claim.

Example machine readable instructions 400 that may be executed toimplement the example audience measurement system 100 of FIG. 1 arerepresented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. For convenience, andwithout loss of generality, execution of the example machine readableinstructions 400 is described from the perspective of the example devicemeter 125 of FIG. 1 being implemented according to the example of FIG.2, and the example data processing facility 140 of FIG. 1 including anexample data facility processor 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3. Withreference to the preceding figures and associated descriptions, thedescription of the execution of the machine readable instructions 400 ofFIG. 4 begins, for convenience, at block 405 at which the data facilityprocessor 300 of the data processing facility 140 performs metermanagement, including downloading of one or more reference signaturepackages to the device meter 125. At block 410, the device meter 125monitors the media device 110 at the monitored site 105 using predictivesignature caching based on the reference signature package(s) receivedpreviously from the data processing facility 140 via the processing atblock 405. Example machine readable instructions that can be executed toperform the processing at block 410 are illustrated in FIG. 5, which isdescribed in greater detail below.

At block 415, the metering data receiver 310 of the data facilityprocessor 300 receives metering data reported by the device meter 125and stores the reported metering data in the metering data storage 335.At block 420, the media exposure profiler 325 of the data facilityprocessor 300 extracts historical metering data associated with thedevice meter 125 from the metering data storage 335. At block 425, themedia exposure profiler 325 determines, as described above, a mediaexposure profile for the device meter 125, which includes one or moremedia exposure patterns representative of media exposure and/orconsumption behavior at the monitored site 105 that is monitored by thedevice meter 125. Example machine readable instructions that may beexecuted to perform the processing at block 425 are illustrated in FIG.6, which is described in greater detail below.

At block 430, the media scheduling processor 330 of the data facilityprocessor 300 processes media scheduling/availability data 435 stored inthe media scheduling storage 340 to determine a media availabilityschedule for the next, or some other future, monitoring interval, asdescribed above. At block 440, the media exposure predictor 320 of thedata facility processor 300 compares the media availability scheduledetermined at block 430 for the next, or some other future, monitoringinterval with the media exposure patterns included in the profiledetermined at block 425 to predict the reference media that is likely tobe presented and/or consumed at the monitored site 105 during the next,or some other future, monitoring interval, as described above. Examplemachine readable instructions that may be executed to perform theprocessing at block 440 are illustrated in FIG. 7, which is described ingreater detail below.

At block 445, the reference signature packager 345 of the data facilityprocessor 300 prepares a package of reference signatures representativeof the reference media predicted at block 440 for presentation and/orconsumption at the monitored site 105 during the next, or some otherfuture, monitoring interval. As described above, the reference signaturepackager 345 retrieves the appropriate subsets (e.g., sequences) ofreference signatures representative of respective reference media to berepresented in the reference signature package from a referencesignature library 450 stored in the reference signature storage 350.Then, processing returns to block 405 for another iteration in which thereference signature package determined at block 445 is downloaded to thedevice meter 105 for use during a subsequent monitoring interval. Theiterative processing of the example machine readable instructions 400then continues according to the preceding description.

Example machine readable instructions 410 that may be executed toimplement the example device meter 125 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2, and/or theprocessing at block 410 of FIG. 4, are represented by the flowchartshown in FIG. 5. For convenience, and without loss of generality,execution of the example machine readable instructions 410 is describedfrom the perspective of the example device meter 125 of FIG. 1 beingimplemented according to the example of FIG. 2. With reference to thepreceding figures and associated descriptions, execution of the machinereadable instructions 410 of FIG. 5 begins at block 505 at which thesignature package receiver 215 of the device meter 125 receives areference signature package for a next, or some other future, monitoringinterval from the data processing facility 140. At block 505, thesignature package receiver 215 also stores the received referencesignature package in the cache 225 of the memory 230, as describedabove.

At block 510, the reference signature selector 240 of the device meter125 selects subset(s) of reference signatures from the cache 230 forcomparison against site signatures generated for a given (e.g., current)monitored time period. The subset(s) of reference signatures selected atblock 510 represent respective reference media predicted forpresentation by the monitored media device 110 during the currentmonitored time period. As described above, the reference signatureselector 240 can select the appropriate subset(s) of referencesignatures using time information stored in the cache 230 and providedwith the reference signature package associated with the currentmonitoring interval. At block 515, the signature processor 210 of thedevice meter 125 processing media signal(s) obtained via the mediainterface 205 for the monitored media device 110 to generate sitesignatures for the current time period.

At block 520, the comparator 235 of the device meter 125 compares thesubset(s) of reference signatures selected at block 510 with the sitesignatures generated at block 515. If a match is detected (block 525),the metering data reporter 245 of the device meter 125 processes thedescriptive information stored in the cache 230 to determine whether thematching reference signatures represent live or time-shifted mediareference media predicted for presentation and/or consumption during thecurrent time period. If the matching reference signatures represent livereference media (block 530), then at block 535 the metering datareporter 245 includes information in the metering data to be reportedfor the current time period indicating that the live media presentationand/or consumption predicted for the current time period occurred, aswell as the duration over which such presentation and/or consumptionmatched the prediction. If, however, the matching reference signaturesrepresent time-shifted reference media (block 530), then at block 540the metering data reporter 245 includes information in the metering datato be reported for the current time period indicating that thetime-shifted media presentation and/or consumption predicted for thecurrent time period occurred, as well as the duration over which suchpresentation and/or consumption matched the prediction. As describedabove, in some examples, the information reported at block 540 forpredicted time-shifted media presentation and/or consumption may bedifferent (e.g., may also include media identification information) fromthe information reported at block 535 for predicted live mediapresentation and/or consumption.

Returning to block 525, if the comparator determines that the sitesignatures generated at block 515 fail to match any of the subset(s) ofreference signatures selected at block 510, then processing proceeds toblock 545, which corresponds to the case in which the reference mediapredicted for the given (e.g., current) time period was not presentedand/or consumed. Therefore, at block 545, the metering data reporter 245reverts to reporting the site signatures generated by the signatureprocessor 210 at block 515 for the given (e.g., current) time period, asdescribed above. After processing at block 535, 540 or 545 completes, atblock 550 the device meter 125 determines whether the currentprediction-based monitoring interval has expired. If the monitoringinterval has not expired (block 550), then control returns to block 510and blocks subsequent thereto at which the device meter 125 performsmedia monitoring based on predictive signature caching for a subsequent(e.g., the next) time period in the current monitoring interval. If,however, the monitoring interval has expired (block 550), then themetering data reporter 245 of the device meter 125 reports the meteringdata for the expired monitoring interval to the data processing facility140. Control then returns to block 505 and blocks subsequent thereto atwhich the device meter 125 receives the reference signature package foruse in performing media monitoring based on predictive signature cachingduring the next monitoring interval.

Example machine readable instructions 425 that may be executed toimplement the media exposure profiler 325 of the example data facilityprocessor 300 of FIG. 3, and/or the processing at block 425 of FIG. 4,are represented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 6. With reference to thepreceding figures and associated descriptions, execution of the machinereadable instructions 425 of FIG. 6 begins at block 605 at which themedia exposure profiler 325 processes historical metering data stored inthe metering data storage 335 to determine, as described above, a firstmedia exposure pattern associated with live media previously presentedvia the media device 110 being monitored by the device meter 125 (and,thus, inferred to have been consumed at the monitored site 105). Atblock 610, the media exposure profiler 325 processes the historicalmetering data stored in the metering data storage 335 to determine, asdescribed above, a second media exposure pattern associated withtime-shifted media previously presented via the media device 110 beingmonitored by the device meter 125 (and, thus, inferred to have beenconsumed at the monitored site 105). At block 615, the media exposureprofiler 325 uses the patterns determined at blocks 605 and 610 toupdate, in any appropriate manner, the live and time-shifted mediaexposure patterns stored in the media exposure profile for the devicemeter 125.

Example machine readable instructions 440 that may be executed toimplement the media exposure predictor 320 of the example data facilityprocessor 300 of FIG. 3, and/or the processing at block 440 of FIG. 4,are represented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 7. With reference to thepreceding figures and associated descriptions, execution of the machinereadable instructions 440 of FIG. 7 begins at block 705 at which themedia exposure predictor 320 obtains a media availability schedule,which corresponds to the next, or some other future, monitoring intervalfrom, for example, the media scheduling processor 330. At block 710, themedia exposure predictor 320 compares, as described above, the mediaavailability schedule obtained at block 705 with one or more mediaexposure pattern(s) determined by the media exposure predictor 320 ofthe data facility processor 300 as being representative of the mediapresentation and/or consumption behavior associated with monitored site105 being monitored by the device meter 125. Based on the comparison, atblock 715, the media exposure predictor 320 identifies any livereference media that is predicted to be presented and/or consumed at themonitored site 105 associated with the device meter 125 during the next,or some other future, monitoring interval. At block 715, the mediaexposure predictor 320 also determines time information specifying timewindow(s), within the next (or future) monitoring interval, during whichsuch live reference media is predicted to be presented and/or consumedat the monitored site 105 associated with the device meter 125.Furthermore, based on the comparison performed at block 710, at block720, the media exposure predictor 320 identifies any time-shiftedreference media that is predicted to be presented and/or consumed at themonitored site 105 associated with the device meter 125 during the next,or some other future, monitoring interval. At block 720, the mediaexposure predictor 320 also determines time information specifying timewindow(s), within the next (or future) monitoring interval, during whichsuch time-shifted reference media is predicted to be presented and/orconsumed at the monitored site 105 associated with the device meter 125

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processing system 800 capable ofexecuting the instructions of FIGS. 4-7 to implement the exampleaudience measurement system 100, the example device meter 125, theexample data processing facility 140, the example media interface 205,the example signature processor 210, the example signature packagereceiver 215, the example network interface 220, the example cache 225,the example memory 230, the example comparator 235, the examplereference signature selector 240, the example metering data reporter245, the example type-1 signature generator 255, the example type-2signature generator 260, the example data facility processor 300, theexample network interface 305, the example metering data receiver 310,the example comparator 315, the example media exposure predictor 320,the example media exposure profile 325, the example media schedulingprocessor 330, the example metering data storage 335, the example mediascheduling storage 340, the example reference signature packager 345,the example reference signature storage 350 and/or the example metermanager 355 of FIGS. 1-3. The processing system 800 can be, for example,a server, a personal computer, a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, acell phone, etc.), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internetappliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, aBlu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set topbox, a digital camera, or any other type of computing device.

The system 800 of the instant example includes a processor 812. Forexample, the processor 812 can be implemented by one or moremicroprocessors and/or controllers from any desired family ormanufacturer.

The processor 812 includes a local memory 813 (e.g., a cache) and is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 814 and anon-volatile memory 816 via a link 818. The link 1518 may be implementedby a bus, one or more point-to-point connections, etc., or a combinationthereof. The volatile memory 814 may be implemented by Static RandomAccess Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM),Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 816 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 814, 816is controlled by a memory controller.

The processing system 800 also includes an interface circuit 820. Theinterface circuit 820 may be implemented by any type of interfacestandard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB),and/or a PCI express interface.

One or more input devices 822 are connected to the interface circuit820. The input device(s) 822 permit a user to enter data and commandsinto the processor 812. The input device(s) can be implemented by, forexample, a keyboard, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, atrackbar (such as an isopoint), a voice recognition system and/or anyother human-machine interface.

One or more output devices 824 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 820. The output devices 824 can be implemented, for example, bydisplay devices (e.g., a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tubedisplay (CRT)), a printer and/or speakers. The interface circuit 820,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card.

The interface circuit 820 also includes a communication device, such asa modem or network interface card, to facilitate exchange of data withexternal computers via a network 826 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, adigital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, acellular telephone system, etc.).

The processing system 800 also includes one or more mass storage devices828 for storing machine readable instructions and data. Examples of suchmass storage devices 828 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks,compact disk drives and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

Coded instructions 832 corresponding to the instructions of FIGS. 4-7may be stored in the mass storage device 828, in the volatile memory814, in the non-volatile memory 816, in the local memory 813 and/or on aremovable storage medium, such as a CD or DVD 836.

As an alternative to implementing the methods and/or apparatus describedherein in a system such as the processing system of FIG. 8, the methodsand or apparatus described herein may be embedded in a structure such asa processor and/or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

Finally, although certain example methods, apparatus and articles ofmanufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of thispatent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers allmethods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within thescope of the appended claims either literally or under the doctrine ofequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to monitor media presented at amonitored site via a meter at the monitored site, the method comprising:selecting, at the meter, a first set of reference signaturesrepresentative of reference media predicted to be presented at themonitored site during a first time period from a cache of referencesignatures stored at the meter; comparing, at the meter, a set of sitesignatures generated by the meter for the first time period with thefirst set of reference signatures; in response to determining that atleast a first subset of the set of site signatures matches at least afirst subset of the first set of reference signatures, reporting, viathe meter, metering data but not reporting the first subset of the setof site signatures, the metering data indicating that first referencemedia represented by the first subset of the first set of referencesignatures was presented during the first time period; and in responseto determining that the set of site signatures fails to match the firstset of reference signatures, reporting, via the meter, the set of sitesignatures.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the cache ofreference signatures is representative of reference media predicted tobe presented during a monitoring interval including the first timeperiod.
 3. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein the cache of referencesignatures includes time information specifying time windows whenrespective subsets of reference signatures representative of respectivereference media are to be used by the meter for signature matching, andthe selecting of the first set of reference signatures from the cache ofreference signatures is based on the time information.
 4. A method asdefined in claim 3 wherein a first time window specified for the firstsubset of the first set of reference signatures representative of thefirst reference media is different from a second time window specifiedfor a second subset of the first set of reference signaturesrepresentative of second reference media.
 5. A method as defined inclaim 2 wherein the cache of reference signatures includes typeinformation specifying whether the first reference media represented bythe first subset of the first set of reference signatures corresponds toat least one of live media predicted to be presented during the firsttime period, or time-shifted media predicted to be presented during thefirst time period.
 6. A method as defined in claim 5 wherein themetering data includes at least one of first information when the firstreference media represented by the first subset of the first set ofreference signatures corresponds to live media predicted to be presentedduring the first time period, or second information different from thefirst information when the first reference media represented by thefirst subset of the first set of reference signatures corresponds totime-shifted media predicted to be presented during the first timeperiod.
 7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the first set ofreference signatures corresponds to a first type of signature from amongat least two types of signatures supported by the meter, and the firsttype of signature has a lower resolution than a second type of signaturefrom among the at least two types of signatures.
 8. A method as definedin claim 1 further comprising receiving the first set of referencesignatures from a processor located remotely from the monitored site. 9.A tangible computer readable storage medium comprising computer readableinstructions which, when executed, cause a meter for monitoring media ata monitored site to at least: select a first set of reference signaturesrepresentative of reference media predicted to be presented at themonitored site during a first time period from a cache of referencesignatures stored at the meter; compare a set of site signaturesgenerated by the meter for the first time period with the first set ofreference signatures; in response to at least a first subset of the setof site signatures being determined to match at least a first subset ofthe first set of reference signatures, send metering data not includingthe first subset of the set of site signatures to a data collectionsite, the metering data indicating that first reference mediarepresented by the first subset of the first set of reference signatureswas presented during the first time period; and in response to the setof site signatures being determined to fail to match the first set ofreference signatures, send the set of site signatures to the datacollection site.
 10. The storage medium as defined in claim 9 whereinthe cache of reference signatures is representative of reference mediapredicted to be presented during a monitoring interval including thefirst time period.
 11. The storage medium as defined in claim 10 whereinthe cache of reference signatures includes time information specifyingtime windows when respective subsets of reference signaturesrepresentative of respective reference media are to be used by the meterfor signature matching, and the meter is to select the first set ofreference signatures from the cache of reference signatures based on thetime information.
 12. The storage medium as defined in claim 11 whereina first time window specified for the first subset of the first set ofreference signatures representative of the first reference media isdifferent from a second time window specified for a second subset of thefirst set of reference signatures representative of second referencemedia.
 13. The storage medium as defined in claim 10 wherein the cacheof reference signatures includes type information specifying whether thefirst reference media represented by the first subset of the first setof reference signatures corresponds to at least one of live mediapredicted to be presented during the first time period, or time-shiftedmedia predicted to be presented during the first time period.
 14. Thestorage medium as defined in claim 13 wherein the metering data includesat least one of first information when the first reference mediarepresented by the first subset of the first set of reference signaturescorresponds to live media predicted to be presented during the firsttime period, or second information different from the first informationwhen the first reference media represented by the first subset of thefirst set of reference signatures corresponds to time-shifted mediapredicted to be presented during the first time period.
 15. The storagemedium as defined in claim 9 wherein the first set of referencesignatures corresponds to a first type of signature from among at leasttwo types of signatures supported by the meter, and the first type ofsignature has a lower resolution than a second type of signature fromamong the at least two types of signatures.
 16. The storage medium asdefined in claim 9 wherein the computer readable instructions, whenexecuted, further cause the meter to receive the first set of referencesignatures from a processor located remotely from the monitored site.17. A meter to monitor media presented by a media device, the metercomprising: a reference signature selector to select a first set ofreference signatures representative of reference media predicted to bepresented by the media device during a first time period from a cache ofreference signatures stored at the meter; a comparator to compare a setof site signatures generated by the meter for the first time period withthe first set of reference signatures; and a processor to: in responseto at least a first subset of the set of site signatures beingdetermined to match at least a first subset of the first set ofreference signatures, send metering data not including the first subsetof the set of site signatures to a data collection site, the meteringdata indicating that first reference media represented by the firstsubset of the first set of reference signatures was presented during thefirst time period; and in response to the set of site signatures beingdetermined to fail to match the first set of reference signatures, sendthe set of site signatures to the data collection site.
 18. A meter asdefined in claim 17 wherein the cache of reference signatures isrepresentative of reference media predicted to be presented during amonitoring interval including the first time period, the cache ofreference signatures corresponding to a first type of signature fromamong at least two types of signatures supported by the meter, the firsttype of signature having a lower resolution than a second type ofsignature from among the at least two types of signatures.
 19. A meteras defined in claim 18 wherein the cache of reference signaturesincludes time information specifying time windows when respectivesubsets of reference signatures representative of respective referencemedia are to be used by the meter for media monitoring, and thereference signature selector is to select the first set of referencesignatures from the cache of reference signatures based on the timeinformation.
 20. A meter as defined in claim 19 wherein a first timewindow specified for the first subset of the first set of referencesignatures representative of the first reference media is different froma second time window specified for a second subset of the first set ofreference signatures representative of second reference media.
 21. Ameter as defined in claim 18 wherein the cache of reference signaturesincludes type information specifying whether the first reference mediarepresented by the first subset of the first set of reference signaturescorresponds to at least one of live media predicted to be presentedduring the first time period, or time-shifted media predicted to bepresented during the first time period.
 22. A meter as defined in claim21 wherein the metering data includes at least one of first informationwhen the first reference media represented by the first subset of thefirst set of reference signatures corresponds to live media predicted tobe presented during the first time period, or second informationdifferent from the first information when the first reference mediarepresented by the first subset of the first set of reference signaturescorresponds to time-shifted media predicted to be presented during thefirst time period.
 23. A meter as defined in claim 17 wherein the meteris to receive the first set of reference signatures from a secondprocessor located remotely from the monitored site.